Bill McIver wrote: > > All, > > I have been informally cataloging a number of incidents involving my > use of OpenOffice. I think this speaks more broadly to adoption of > F/OSS as a means of bridging digital divides. > > Case 1: > Colleagues have notified me that documents that I convert to .doc > format turn up with a blue background. I've not had time to track this > within the user community, but naturally assume this is due to > software mischief.
Hmm... I've never heard of this one. Can you send me one of these documents offlist? And what version of OpenOffice.org are you using? I've been using OpenOffice.org on multiple operating systems since it first came out; the only problem I've had have been formatting issues - which seem to have gone away with the beta of OpenOffice 1.9 (a nicely upgraded suite which has yet to break on me after months of very hard use). So I'm really interested in this problem you're having. Historically, though, Microsoft has done things to break competitor software. In the days of DOS, they made Lotus 1-2-3 and other applications break with every version increment. That's just one example. Doing such things inflates the cost of software for everyone, until, eventually, the bubble pops. The bubble hasn't popped yet. > > Case 2: > This morning -- prompting this message -- I had one e-mail message > blocked from a Canadian Government firewall because it had an > OpenOffice attachment .sxw Other messages with .doc and .rtf version > of the same were not. Many institutions filter attachments like this as a way to avoid virus and worms being propagated through their networks. It's archaic with the use of server anti-virus software being used so much, but it may be a way to decrease the chances of a new one getting in. Government institutions do have to be very careful about that sort of thing; we pay a lot of taxes and we should want them to be careful... It is somewhat ironic if they allow the '.doc' format in, because that format is often compromised whereas the OpenOffice.org format has not yet been compromised - and it wouldn't even be considered a valid extension by present Microsoft Office suites. The solution is to save in the '.doc' format from OpenOffice.org. There are rumors that the new Microsoft Office will have an XML format. I blogged about it here: http://www.knowprose.com/node/2151 , but a long story short: Even if they use XML, it does not mean that they will not copyright the form of XML that they use and keep other people from using it. What I do not understand is why Microsoft doesn't simply support the OpenOffice.org format - it's smaller (up to 33% of the size). Perhaps the issue is with scripting, which is an inherent weakness in security for Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows - where malicious scripts written by teenagers can proliferate. But in the larger issue of software discrimination - I think there is, but I think that the degree is decreasing. More government agencies around the world are moving to use Open Source/Free Software solutions, which means to communicate with other systems efficiently either Microsoft or the Open Source community will have to bridge the divide - though patents, copyrights and trademarks serve as a leash for how much *either* side can. This is a pretty pivotal period in that respect... and I also make the case, often enough, that if there is software bigotry, there is bigotry on both sides and that is what makes the news more than the people trying to get things to interoperate. "If everyone used operating system XYZ, the world would be a better place" is bigotry. What good is freedom if you don't have liberty of choice? What we need is stuff that works together. And because of laws related to copyrights, patents and trademarks, proprietary software manufacturers have to protect their 'intellectual property', or they lose their rights. So even if someone does something which increases the usability of their software, they still have to defend their copyright or patent to assure that they will have the rights in the future... thus the lawyers server as fences instead of gates. It's actually in the interests of everyone, proprietary and FOSS folks, to work on creating more workable law related to patents, copyrights and trademarks. This is interesting in the context of the online WIPO discussions we can all participate in (I am today as I have time): http://www.wipo.int/ipisforum/en/ -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: Panama City, Panama [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
